GLK trip to Namibia - 2009

GLK NAMIBIA 2009

How can I ever put into such a short space all that happened on our trip to Namibia this summer?  There is so much to tell but as we went over to Namibia with the intention of running children's day camps I think I will start there - with the kids . . . they were wonderful, so loving, so appreciative and grateful and sooooo happy!  Each one of them had their own character and all of them from the ages of 3 to 20 years joined in all of the activities that we had organised for them.  Each day they would queue up outside the gates with their piece of paper which entitled them to come in for the day, join in the games and activities, have a meal and be educated about health and hygiene at the same time.   They loved the team games, crafts and activities and when it came to singing, they were in their element! Every day the kids were able to go home with the crafts that they had made. The sock puppets went down very well and the next day we realised that one boy had been able to trade for the second sock from another child so he had a pair to wear after he had taken off the eyes and mouth, then we realised just how poor these children were.

The little ones came in the morning and had a bowl of porridge, brushed their teeth, did the activities and were given a lunch. If necessary, they were bathed. Then, after more activities and singing they go home to their corrugated iron homes that have no electric, toilet and only one standpipe in the village to obtain water from.  Where the next meal was coming from, they wouldn't know.

As the days went on, the age groups got older. Each time, it was so sad to say goodbye to them. I think my favourite group was the 14-20 yr olds. These were the ones that had worried me the most as I thought the majority of them would be bigger than me - not so.  Even the oldest boy thought nothing of making a woolen bracelet or a scoubidou (which they could go and sell)  They were all so full of life and laughter and would burst into song at the drop of a hat - just like a gospel choir, clapping and dancing.   Their faith and their voices were the two things that didn't cost any money and it brought a lump to your throat to hear them.

The children were extremely well behaved and were told that they were only allowed to speak English because of us. Their native language is Damara which is a language with 'clicks' in it. Very strange!  If a teacher caught them speaking damara during the day, there were consequences!

Our photos convey more than words can say, their big smiles and happy faces made it all worthwhile. These children had waited a long time for us to arrive and we had to make each day the best we could and bring as much fun into their lives as possible, even if we would go home with a tear in our eye.

Each day we were driven by Gabrielle our driver, the twenty minutes from the farm where we were staying into Katatura where the centre was.  We were lucky, we had a brick built dormitory to stay in with a large kitchen.  Here was where all the staff also stayed along with their resident dog Sadie.

The weekends we had off and so we arranged to go the 300 kilometers to Swakopmund which was on the coast to try our hand at sandboarding - that was an experience!  We stayed overnight in a hostel and did the usual souvenir shopping whilst we were there.  We also went on a safari and saw baboons, springbok, crocodiles, oryx and a rhinoceros with her 3 month old baby who came right up to the jeep for us to stroke!  The giraffes were rather shy and kept away but we weren't too upset as we had already seen them out in the wilds along the roadside!

As we had anticipated, this was a trip of laughter and sadness.   The children at the ‘Beautiful Kidz' centre just wanted to be hugged and loved and hopefully we were able to bring a little happiness into their lives.

I happened to notice one of the girl's comments on facebook which seemed to put the trip into a nutshell and I'm sure she won't mind if I quote her here    . . .

‘Believe me I did a lot of crying and laughing. Those kids are just magical. An amazing experience I will never forget.  It's changed me'.

Thank you to everybody who helped either by donating money or collecting toothbrushes, soaps etc or ink cartridges.  All was gratefully received.  I just wish you could have seen all their little faces!

Judith Fairbairn

GLK Namibia 2009

GLK NAMIBIA 2009 

When all the dust has settled
And our rucksacks put away
Our thoughts go back to Africa
That country far away

Now spare a thought for Marvin
Who couldn't speak or hear
And how he waited patiently
For all the queue to clear

And there was also Neville
Whose hearts he did all touch
I'm sure that he would want to say
A big ‘thank you very much'

The rhino's were our new found friends
The warthogs were so funny
The giraffes, they were so elegant
And as for Sadie's tummy!

The dolphins - now that was a shock
As we sat and ate our food
They swam around and teased us lots
And brightened up our mood

We thought we'd try to sandboard
A sport unknown to most
Much courage that day was needed
As we sped the Atlantic coast

If I was to choose one memory
For my heart to treasure
I think I'd choose the gospel songs
As it gave us so much pleasure

Now we’ve waved ‘goodbye’ to August
And we’ve said ‘farewell’ to Gabs
We’ve hugged and kissed the children
Many friendships have been made

The fundraising is now over
And the trainings all complete
No more emails to Fiona
Our plans worked out a treat!